Blackships
'''Blackships '''are a type of magically empowered ships used by the Orgoth and the Cryx. Blackships various magical abilities such as the ability to manipulate weather, giving them an advantage against the more conventional ships of their enemies.Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy RPG Core RulesForces of Warmachine: Cryx Command MK3 Design The early blackships of the Orgoth were longships rowed by men with inhuman stamina, and supported by sails that gathered a wind that seemed to blow only for them and managed to wipe out the Dirgenmast Fleet of Tordor. Orgoth fleets also attempted an invasion of the Cryxian Empire with their fleets wiping out a Satyxis fleet sent to intercept them but had to give up after Toruk himself took flight to wipe out the invading fleet. When the rebellion pushed the Orgoth out of the mainland Toruk sent an army to attack the last Orgoth stronghold of Drer Drakkerung on Garlghast Island. The battle was disastrous with the Orgoth using magic to destroy the fortress city to take out the enemy with them. However Cryx using forensic necromancy managed to gain a massive amount of Orgoth occult lore including the art of creating blackships. No Quarter Prime #4 Pioneered by Lich Lord Terminus Cryx began applying Ogroth knowledge to build much more powerful vessels in the shipyards of Dreggsmouth. Modern blackships displace over two thousand tons and house a crew of nearly a thousand. A blackship is propelled by its own unnatural wind and always sails with the weather gauge, making them swift and agile despite their size, able to strike at speed with maximum maneuverability. They can also summon storms and unnatural fogs to aid them during battle and can be further cloaked by specialized Satyxis rituals. Lumber for their construction harvested from blight-stained groves cultivated on Skell along the Scalesflow River. Because a single blackship requires dozens of large trees and years of shaping and curing, shipwrights are careful not to waste so much as a single timber of the available supply. Blackships are constructed in Dreggsmouth under the supervision of Master Shipwright Kress Soratt, who answers to Lord Captain Derevnia Vrace, master of Dreggsmouth who presently serves Lich Lord Terminus himself. Blackships have at least two gun decks and as many as fifty cannons to a side, which allows them to battle on equal footing with the heaviest naval vessels. The greatest blackships, like the flagships that sail with Skarre Ravenmane have dozens of additional cannons. Despite their size and firepower, blackships possess both speed and maneuverability, outclassing ships of equivalent weight. Lacking the durability of Khadoran or Cygnaran ironclads, blackships tend to use their maneuverability to evade damage and despite their impressive firepower they rely less on cannon bombardments and more on the delivery of boarding parties to seize enemy vessels relatively intact. The main deck is a wide expanse of masts, capstans, small deck guns, and rigging. Boarding craft, mostly traditional Satyxis vessels are stowed on the main deck near launch hoists. Two tall castles rise above the main deck, the quarterdeck to the aft and the forecastle to the bow, sometimes two or more floors taller than those of a traditional warship giving them sightlines down onto the main deck of a rival ship and allows Cryxian pirates to swing down on ratlines on to enemy vessels. The quarterdeck contains officer’s quarters and the captain’s grand cabin, while the forecastle of most blackships houses the ship’s topmost cannons. Essential crew have quarters in the forecastle and Blood witches often claim a portion as dark ritual space thick with incense and the smell of freshly spilled blood. The gun decks are home to the ship’s cannons, with blasting powder and ammunition stored safely in the magazine within the central and best-defended area of the ship. As the gun decks take up the largest area of the vessel they also act as housing for crew, who sleep in hammocks. The middle gun deck houses the ship’s galley, where meals are prepared and served to off-duty crew, though the space is cramped and most sailors prefer to eat in the more open space of a gun deck instead. Actual crew quarters are cramped spaces at the fore of the ship on the middle or lower gun decks, with hammocks strung four or five high. Below the gun decks is the orlop deck and the hold which contain all of the ship’s supplies as well as quarters for those crew who need ready access to them. It is usually cold and dark on these lowest two decks, as they sit below the water line. Used for long-tern storage of food the orlop deck and hold also house miles of spare cable, rope, and sailcloth along with timbers and carpentry supplies, fresh water, coal, necrotite, miscellaneous general supplies, inert bonejacks and helljacks, and if needed, ballast. References Category:Cryx Category:Technologies